Baptism

The Anglican and Methodist Church of St Andrew

Congratulations on the arrival of a baby in your family!

We are delighted that you areexploring the idea of having your child baptised. This page will give you some background information to help you think through why you want your child baptised, and what baptism (often called ‘Christening’) will mean for you and your child.

This is an important event, so our aim is to help you prepare and understand all that Baptism involves, especially in terms of Christian commitment. If reading this does not inspire you, then do look at a Service of Thanksgiving which has a different starting point within the Church of England & Methodist Church.

If you would like to speak with anyone about either of these services, do telephone our Parish Office on 01892 837617.

The Service of Baptism takes as its starting point you as parents expressing your own personal commitment to the Christian faith.

During the service you will be asked to:

declare your belief and trust in God.

make promises to bring your child up within the Christian faith.

make a commitment to publicly practise the Christian faith yourself, by attending Church regularly, praying privately and living by trust in God.

These promises do need thinking about, as the Baptism Service implies your intention, on behalf of the child, to take a fuller place in the life of God’s family at St Andrew’s.

You and your godparents will also be asked to publicly make and affirm on behalf of the child and yourself a willingness to:

Turn to Christ

Repent of your sins

Renounce evil.

Clearly it is important to decide whether you and your godparents can make these promises and answer the questions truthfully. As parents, you will need to think carefully about why you want your child baptised and whether you want to commit yourselves before making your final decision.